TimothyLeary
Timothy Leary was born in 1920. He obtained his master’s degree from Washington State University and his Ph.D. in psychology from University of California, Berkley. Leary went on to become a psychology lecturer for Harvard University. In 1960, Leary’s life turned around after he tried psilocybin mushrooms during a trip to Mexico. Leary said that he "learned more about... (his) brain and its possibilities... (and) more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than... (he) had in the preceding fifteen years of studying doing [sic] research in psychology”. When Leary returned to Harvard he and a few coworkers began the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The Harvard Psilocybin Project gave various subjects psychedelic drugs in a controlled atmosphere and then analyzed their actions. During the project Leary administered LSD to 200 clergymen and 75% said that it was the most religious experience of their lives. Leary is the author of many books like The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Psychedelic Prayers & Other Meditations, and Start Your Own Religion. Following the Summer of Love in 1967, Leary had various complications with the law due to his use of illegal substances. In 1969, President Nixon labeled Leary as “the most dangerous man in America”. After escaping prison in the early 1970s, Leary fled to Algeria where he sought refuge with the Black Panthers. Leary was forced back into the United States and spent some time in jail but was later released. “The most dangerous man in America” died of cancer in 1996 but his legacy lives on through his many books and discography.
Jefferson Airplane performing White Rabbit at Woodstock. The performance and atmosphere are similar to the "Gathering of the Tribes- Human Be In" in San Francisco in 1967.
Address to the crowd after Jefferson Airplanes performance on January 14, 1967 at the “Gathering of the Tribes- Human Be In” at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Hello hippies,
When the San Francisco Oracle told me about today’s “Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be In” I knew it was something I could not miss. I would just like to reiterate Jefferson Airplane’s feelings about “feeding your head”. Hippies, beatniks, flower children it is your obligation to “feed your head” and go beyond what society expects of you, move away from your parent’s ideas on life, and what the conservative politicians want you to be. Society is not allowing you to accomplish what you are able to do. They want to hold you back, quiet your voice, and control your mind. Today’s youth, yes I am talking about you out their sprawled across the grass chanting mantras with flowers in your hair, you are apart of the most educated generation and it is up to you to make a difference. You need to “Turn on, tune in, drop out”. “Turn on” and “activate your neural and genetic equipment”. “Tune in” and “interact harmoniously with the world around you - externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives”. “Drop out” and experience “self-reliance, discover one's singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change.”
Timothy LearyTimothy Leary was born in 1920. He obtained his master’s degree from Washington State University and his Ph.D. in psychology from University of California, Berkley. Leary went on to become a psychology lecturer for Harvard University. In 1960, Leary’s life turned around after he tried psilocybin mushrooms during a trip to Mexico. Leary said that he "learned more about... (his) brain and its possibilities... (and) more about psychology in the five hours after taking these mushrooms than... (he) had in the preceding fifteen years of studying doing [sic] research in psychology”. When Leary returned to Harvard he and a few coworkers began the Harvard Psilocybin Project. The Harvard Psilocybin Project gave various subjects psychedelic drugs in a controlled atmosphere and then analyzed their actions. During the project Leary administered LSD to 200 clergymen and 75% said that it was the most religious experience of their lives. Leary is the author of many books like The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Psychedelic Prayers & Other Meditations, and Start Your Own Religion. Following the Summer of Love in 1967, Leary had various complications with the law due to his use of illegal substances. In 1969, President Nixon labeled Leary as “the most dangerous man in America”. After escaping prison in the early 1970s, Leary fled to Algeria where he sought refuge with the Black Panthers. Leary was forced back into the United States and spent some time in jail but was later released. “The most dangerous man in America” died of cancer in 1996 but his legacy lives on through his many books and discography.
Jefferson Airplane performing White Rabbit at Woodstock. The performance and atmosphere are similar to the "Gathering of the Tribes- Human Be In" in San Francisco in 1967.
Address to the crowd after Jefferson Airplanes performance on January 14, 1967 at the “Gathering of the Tribes- Human Be In” at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Hello hippies,
When the San Francisco Oracle told me about today’s “Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be In” I knew it was something I could not miss. I would just like to reiterate Jefferson Airplane’s feelings about “feeding your head”. Hippies, beatniks, flower children it is your obligation to “feed your head” and go beyond what society expects of you, move away from your parent’s ideas on life, and what the conservative politicians want you to be. Society is not allowing you to accomplish what you are able to do. They want to hold you back, quiet your voice, and control your mind. Today’s youth, yes I am talking about you out their sprawled across the grass chanting mantras with flowers in your hair, you are apart of the most educated generation and it is up to you to make a difference. You need to “Turn on, tune in, drop out”. “Turn on” and “activate your neural and genetic equipment”. “Tune in” and “interact harmoniously with the world around you - externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives”. “Drop out” and experience “self-reliance, discover one's singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change.”
Works Cited
Cloud, John “Was Timothy Leary Right?.” Time. 19 Apr 2007. 4 Dec 2007 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1612717,00.html>.
Mansnerus, Laura “Timothy Leary Takes Final Trip: 'Turn- On, Tune-In Drop-out' Guru Dies at 75.” NY Times. 1 Jun 1996. 7 Dec 2007. <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1022.html>.
Menand, Louis “ACID REDUX.” The New Yorker. 26 Jun 2006. 4 Dec 2007. <http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/06/26/060626crbo_books>.
Summer of Love. Dir. Gail Dolgin & Vincente Franco. PBS, 2007.